Veterans get a tuition break - Arizona state chief on Common Core and climate change - Another go for the Common Application

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TUITION BREAK FOR VETS: One of the provisions in a $17 billion compromise bill [http://1.usa.gov/1uDv4aK] on reforming the Department of Veterans Affairs would grant in-state tuition to veterans and their dependents at public institutions in any state, regardless of residency, under the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Veterans would have to have been on active duty for at least 90 days, and enroll within three years of being released or discharged. The Senate voted 91-3 Thursday night to send the bill to President Barack Obama’s desk.

— The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities said in a letter [http://politico.pro/1nXZYXE] last month to Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Jeff Miller that more than 30 states already have or are considering laws that provide for in-state residency waivers. The APLU urged lawmakers to adopt a version of the bill that would not extend the tuition benefit to spouses and dependents, and said the legislation would increase costs and force colleges to rush to comply with new regulations that sometimes conflict with state law. “In principle, we believe that individual states should retain their autonomy to determine in-state residency status and the allocation of states’ resources,” APLU President Peter McPherson wrote.

ARIZONA STATE CHIEF: COMMON CORE PUSHES CLIMATE CHANGE: The Common Core denigrates the Founding Fathers and the U.S. Constitution, presents an unbalanced view of science by “indoctrinating” students into climate change and the standards are too low to properly teach science, Arizona state Superintendent John Huppenthal said during a recent interview on the John C. Scott radio show [http://bit.ly/1m2IbJ9]. The Common Core, of course, covers only math and English/language arts. And while Arizona was a “lead state partner” in the development of the unrelated Next Generation Science Standards, the state hasn’t adopted them.

— During the radio interview, Huppenthal said he wants the state to thoroughly review the standards. “After this election, we’re going to have a thorough review and we’re going to keep all the good stuff and if there’s crap in there we’re going to get rid of it,” he said. In a statement Huppenthal provided to Morning Education, he said he wants to “partner with the next governor to fully review the standards in a series of open, public forums to ensure that we are implementing standards that are best for Arizona students, and to ensure Arizona families have an opportunity to fully voice their concerns.”

— “However, I will always oppose any standard that presents an unbalanced debate on scientific topics like climate change and oppose any standard aimed at denigrating our Founding Fathers and the U.S. Constitution. I will also oppose any law that removes responsibility for curriculum choices from local school districts and charter schools,” Huppenthal added in his statement. Read Huppenthal’s full statement here: http://politico.pro/1nXBi1k.

— One of Huppenthal’s opponents for state superintendent, Democrat David Garcia, used the radio interview comments to slam Huppenthal for flip flopping on the Common Core. “Which is the real John Huppenthal?” Garcia said in a statement. “The one who vigorously defends the standards to the business community, or the one who tells his base he’ll fight to keep out the ‘indoctrination’ of the standards?” Other candidates in the race include Democrat Sharon Thomas and Republican Diane Douglas. Early voting began Thursday and the primary is Aug. 26.

** Presented by JPMorgan Chase & Co.: In 1990, the U.S. ranked 1st in four-year degree attainment — as a study from the Office of the President shows, we’ve dropped to 12th in 2014. College-educated young people have far lower unemployment and poverty rates — and are more likely to live longer and healthier lives. Yet in the U.S., the gap between students who graduate high school and college and those who can’t widens each year. See how one organization is trying to change that: http://politi.co/1lsiYqh **

ANOTHER GO FOR COMMON APP: The new Common Application goes live at 8 a.m. this morning, and interim Common App CEO Paul Mott is “here to help,” he says. After a major redesign and expansion last year resulted in system-crashing glitches that caused at least hundreds of missed application deadlines, the 2014-15 Common App contains a number of changes “to ensure stability and reliability moving forward.” Colleges that subscribe had more time to test the application before its launch, and the Common App collected input on the system from high school students and counselors. Common App staff will be on hand to answer questions and assist with technical difficulties during the process [http://bit.ly/T4YrRG]. They expect more than 800,000 students to submit 3.5 million applications to more than 500 colleges this year. Check out the essay prompts [http://bit.ly/1rivLUo], and these tipsheets for students [http://bit.ly/1oagkLg] and parents [http://bit.ly/1qNBlip].

SPECIAL OLYMPICS PUSHES SOCIAL INCLUSION: In the lead up to the 2015 Special Olympics World Games next summer in Los Angeles, Special Olympics is planning a push for the social inclusion of people with disabilities. In an ideal world, children with disabilities would have the opportunity to play competitively and engage intellectually with their peers, Special Olympics Chairman Tim Shriver tells Morning Education. But that’s not the case in all schools. Rates of isolation and loneliness for children with disabilities are much higher, he said. So Special Olympics is asking their grassroots network to spread the message of inclusion and own the “Unified Generation.” The organization will launch a “significant” marketing campaign using big names to carry their message, Shriver said. Model and actress Brooklyn Decker, a Special Olympics Global Ambassador, joined the organization at the White House on Thursday for a dinner celebrating the the movement. “You wouldn’t think of going to a school and seeing no sports offered for girls,” Shriver said. Years down the road, he thinks people will look back and think the same about opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities.

FINN’S FAREWELL: The Fordham Institute’s founding President Checker Finn will step down today with Executive Vice President Michael Petrilli stepping into his shoes. Finn will stick around as a distinguished senior fellow and president emeritus. In a farewell address, Finn reflects on the current state of education reform. The two most profound developments: We now judge schools based on results and school choice has become almost ubiquitous, he writes. But there’s more to do. For example, Finn writes: “I hail the entry into the ed-reform camp of entrepreneurs with all their energy, imagination, and venture capital, but I’ve seen too many examples of them settling for making their venture profitable for investors or shareholders (or themselves) rather than educationally profitable for the kids it serves.” More: http://bit.ly/UO5yyR.

CAMPBELL BROWN ON COLBERT: Former CNN anchor Campbell Brown, who this week sued over New York’s teacher tenure laws, guest starred on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” Thursday night. Host Stephen Colbert said protesters had pooled outside the television studio and they wanted to know who was funding her efforts. Brown said she wouldn’t reveal the donors to her group, the Partnership for Educational Justice, but said the law firm assisting her group and the families involved was working for free. The protesters are “trying to silence a debate that’s a really important debate that we should be having in this country,” she said.

— Twitter buzz using the hashtag #questions4campbell also ballooned. Both AFT President Randi Weingarten [http://bit.ly/1zAGz1x] and NEA President-elect Lily Eskelsen García [http://bit.ly/1xHdi2j] joined in the conversation. Eskelsen García asked of host Stephen Colbert, “.@StephenAtHome You invited an ex-TV person to talk abt teachers as villains. How abt inviting a real educator to talk abt our students?” Snapshots from the protest: http://bit.ly/1uMlO48 and http://bit.ly/1rUk5HY.

ICYMI: AIR GOING BACK TO COURT: The American Institutes for Research is headed back to court in an effort to invalidate a contract giving Pearson the right to develop, administer and score the PARCC exams. The contract was awarded in New Mexico, but it includes pricing that applies to the entire consortium. PARCC officials expect most member states to adopt the contract, which gives Pearson the testing business for four years. AIR wants to split the contract in two, allowing Pearson to continue its work during the first year of the exams and then opening up a competitive bidding process for the following years. “If you’re going to tie up testing in 14 states for the next four to eight years with a single vendor, which is their business model, it ought to be based on a fair and open competition,” said Jon Cohen, president of AIR Assessments.

— PARCC says AIR’s appeal won’t delay new Pearson exams. “The PARCC consortium is not interested in appeals of appeals that have already been decided and only serve to improve AIR’s market share,” PARCC spokesman David Connerty-Marin said. “The consortium is focused on implementing high quality standards in the best interests of kids and the states are continuing with that work.” Stephanie Simon has more here: http://politico.pro/1u4Xw11 and here: http://politico.pro/1pK1RTl

SYLLABUS

— A Utah-based Libertarian group sues the state over the Common Core alleging that school officials, teachers and parents weren’t properly consulted before the school board adopted the standards. The Salt Lake Tribune: http://bit.ly/1uLR2s6.